Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter of all time and one of the best to ever play the game, but that all could have been different had his career become consumed by ankle injuries which seemed like a distinct possibility.
Appearing on Steve Nash and LeBron James' Mind the Game podcast, Curry opened up about the ankle injuries he had to deal with earlier in his career.
Stephen Curry has revealed just how severe his ankle injuries were
Curry spoke about the first surgery he had on his ankle which occurred after his second NBA season, noting that he was rehabbing at home in Charlotte and struggling to get his ankle back to a place where he could trust it:
"To the point where I wasn't even rolling my ankle like landing on somebody, I was doing one where I was catching it in transition and I'm pushing off and that thing would flip and I'd look back like...I had Bambi legs, I just couldn't stay on my feet," Curry said.
The 2x MVP said it took a lot of time and effort to strengthen the rest of his body so his ankle was stronger as a result, but he admitted, "there was definitely some dark days...If I couldn't even be available, how do I even know if I'm good enough to get to that level?"
It was interesting to hear Curry be vulnerable and honest about his ankle issues in this way. Thankfully, his health has been better in recent seasons but there was a time when he was dubbed to have the "best worst ankles in sports."
Now, injuries don't dominate the narrative of his career, something that seemed like a very real possibility when he was a younger player trying to make his way in the league.
In year 17, Curry is still going strong and still proves on a nightly basis that there are things he can do on a basketball court that will probably never be replicated in our lifetime. Sure, his last few games he's had some struggles, but on the whole he has still been remarkable and should not be taken for granted that he can still produce at such a high level at the age of 37.
Father Time catches up with everyone at some point, but Curry still looks to be going strong and we can all be thankful that his ankle injuries did not prevent his epic career from unfolding.